EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Select Legislative Instrument 2006 No. 97
Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General
Statutory Declarations Act 1959
Statutory Declarations Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1)
The Statutory Declarations Act 1959 (the Act) establishes a regime for Commonwealth statutory declarations, including the purposes for which a statutory declaration may be used, how a statutory declaration is made and the penalty for intentionally making a false declaration.
Section 14 of the Act provides that the Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Section 8 of the Act provides that a statutory declaration must be made in the prescribed form and must be made before a prescribed person.
The Statutory Declarations Regulations 1993 (the Principal Regulations) prescribe the form for making a statutory declaration and the persons before whom a statutory declaration can be made.
The purpose of the Regulations is to insert a definition of ‘address’ which witnesses and declarants must provide on the prescribed form.
The form for making a statutory declaration prescribed in Schedule 1 to the Principal Regulations requires the declarant and the witness to provide their addresses. However, some persons did not wish to provide their personal address and there was particular community concern about the possibility of residential addresses being revealed where statutory declarations contain serious allegations about other persons. The Regulations clarify the meaning of ‘address’ by inserting a definition into the Principal Regulations which allows the witness and declarant to provide a non-residential or forwarding address but not an email address.
Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.
The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The Office of Regulation Review was consulted about the Regulations and advised that a Regulation Impact Statement was not mandatory as the Regulations do not have a direct or significant indirect effect on business.
All Commonwealth departments and agencies were consulted about the definition of the word ‘address.’ None were opposed to the proposed definition.
The Regulations commence the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
2
ATTACHMENT
Details of the Statutory Declarations Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1)
Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations
This regulation provides that the title of the Regulations is the Statutory Declarations Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1).
Regulation 2 – Commencement
This regulation provides for the Regulations to commence on the day after they are registered.
Regulation 3 – Amendment of Statutory Declarations Regulations 1993
This regulation provides that the Statutory Declarations Regulations 1993 (the Principal Regulations) are amended as set out in Schedule 1.
Schedule 1 – Amendments
Item [1] – Regulation 2
Regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations provides definitions for certain words and terms used in the Regulations. This amendment adds a definition of address as follows:
address means the place at which, or through which, a person may be contacted, and includes a postal address, but does not include the person’s email address.
Overview
The Statutory Declarations Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1) were enacted to address a gap in the existing Statutory Declarations Regulations 1993 concerning the definition of 'address' provided by declarants and witnesses in statutory declarations. The Statutory Declarations Act 1959 provides the legal framework for statutory declarations in the Commonwealth, detailing the process of making such declarations and the penalties for making false ones. However, the Act and its accompanying regulations did not explicitly define what constitutes an 'address', leading to some confusion and reluctance from individuals to provide their residential addresses on the prescribed form, especially in cases where the statutory declaration involved serious allegations against others. The amendment was introduced by the Governor-General under Section 14 of the Act to refine the definition of 'address', allowing individuals to provide a non-residential or forwarding address, but excluding email addresses. This change was made in response to community concerns about privacy and was designed to offer flexibility while maintaining a standard of contactability for the purposes of the statutory declaration process.
Scope and Application
The Statutory Declarations Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1) are subordinate legislation that amends the Statutory Declarations Regulations 1993, which in turn implement the Statutory Declarations Act 1959. These regulations apply to all persons and entities required to make statutory declarations within the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as the witnesses who attest to such declarations. The regulations modify the definition of 'address' in the Principal Regulations to clarify that witnesses and declarants may provide a non-residential or forwarding address but are not permitted to provide an email address. This amendment addresses community concerns about the potential disclosure of personal residential addresses when statutory declarations contain serious allegations about other individuals. The scope of these regulations is limited to the definition of 'address' and does not extend to other aspects of the statutory declaration process such as the persons authorised to witness declarations or the penalties for making false declarations, which remain governed by the Act and the Principal Regulations. The Regulations do not introduce any exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds beyond those already specified in the Act and the Principal Regulations.
Key Provisions
The Statutory Declarations Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1) amend the Statutory Declarations Regulations 1993 by adding a definition for the term ‘address’ (Regulation 3). This amendment aims to provide clarity on the type of address that witnesses and declarants can provide when making a statutory declaration. Specifically, the new definition of ‘address’ allows individuals to provide a postal address or a non-residential or forwarding address, but explicitly excludes email addresses (Schedule 1, Item [1]).
Under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 (the Act), statutory declarations must be made in a prescribed form and before a prescribed person (s 8). The amended regulations now clarify that the address provided on the form can be a postal address or an alternative non-residential or forwarding address, which offers flexibility and addresses concerns about privacy and safety. However, it is important to note that email addresses are not permitted as a form of contact information in this context.
The obligations imposed by the regulations include ensuring that the address provided on a statutory declaration is either a postal address or a non-residential or forwarding address, but not an email address. This requirement applies to both the declarant and the witness involved in the statutory declaration process. Compliance with these regulations is necessary to maintain the validity and admissibility of statutory declarations in legal proceedings.
Failure to comply with the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 and the Statutory Declarations Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1) can result in legal consequences. Specifically, intentionally making a false declaration is an offence under the Act (s 12). The maximum penalty for this offence is a fine of 50 penalty units or imprisonment for six months, or both (s 12). Additionally, providing an incorrect or misleading address on a statutory declaration could be considered part of the offence of making a false declaration, thereby exposing individuals to the same penalties.